On November 18 and 19, a group of SEA-ers attended the first United Nations Global Conference for Social Change. Complimentary tickets were provided by Louise Guido, CEO of the Foundation of Social Change and Professor Jill Kickul.  The Foundation for Social Change is a non-profit organization that was designed to teach companies how to implement their social action strategies.

Amir Dossal, the Executive Director of the UN Office for Partnerships, kicked off the first day by emphasizing that developing countries will only thrive with the investment of corporations.  Though billions of dollars are donated each year, moving from philanthropic giving to investing in the poor is the factor that will drive sustainable change. All corporations need to move to a place where Corporate Social Responsibility will be part of the DNA of the organization.

Ms. Guido supported this sentiment as she noted that one of her main goals it to help companies make money while bettering the world at the same time.  The energy levels were rising as she suggested that we reconsider the term “Corporate Social Responsibility” and rebrand it as “Corporate Social Opportunity” as it carries a feeling of hope and change for people to make a difference.

Bennett Freeman was up next. Freeman is the Senior VP of Calvert Investments. Calvert Investments has been one of the leaders in Socially Responsible Investments. Calvert allows its investors to make money while at the same time investing in companies which better the world.

Nike focused on the environmental impacts of producing their products.  Traditionally, the manufacturing component of Nike has had deleterious effects on the surrounding environment because of amongst other things, the water deficit and the raw material consumption. Nike gave a 15-minute detailing how they are manufacturing better products with less waste.

Read more highlights in the Stern Oppy here.